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Dealing With Market Volatility
There’s no question about it: markets have been volatile lately, and with ongoing inflation, rising interest rates, and geopolitical uncertainties, it appears market volatility may continue for some time. It is understandable that any type of market volatility or uncertainty can make investing a nerve-racking endeavor, but we believe it’s important to know your investment strategy and keep a long-term perspective to weather the storm.
Take March 2020 as an example. As a whole, investors pulled $335.6 billion out of equities that month, but those who remained invested saw the index (Russell 300) rebound 17.6% in the following three days.1 Those who remained invested, despite the uncertainty and fear, positioned themselves for a rebound. And those who panicked and left the market may have put themselves in a difficult position to recover from.
At Virtus Wealth Management, we clearly communicate our comprehensive investment process to our clients. Our investment strategy uses active management and non-correlated assets along with traditional assets (stock and bonds) to reduce the overall volatility of our portfolio returns over time. We meet with our clients often to discuss adjustments to our allocations based on current market conditions, hence “active management”, and to review our strategy. We also use these opportunities to review our clients’ risk tolerance and set expectations for both good and bad markets based on their given level of risk.
We do all of this so that our clients are prepared when volatility strikes. By setting expectations ahead of time regarding performance based on investment objectives, our clients have an idea of what can happen in uncertain market conditions and our response. By keeping our clients focused on their long-term strategy and what it’s intended to address over time, it helps put our clients’ minds at ease.
We also explain to our clients that, while it’s human nature to want to protect ourselves and pull out our money when things are looking grim—to protect against additional loss—down markets can be the time to do just the opposite. By investing more when everyone else is fleeing, our clients could get lower prices and benefit from more growth in the long run. Of course, this may not be the right approach for everyone based on their goals and tolerance, but it’s conversation that we have when applicable.
At Virtus Wealth Management, we partner with our clients to pursue their goals and coach them along the way to get there. Our Connect Wealth Process is holistic encompassing investment management described above and more (retirement planning, risk management, tax planning and estate planning). If you are struggling with market volatility, contact us for more information on how we can help.
1 https://retirementestateplan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Value-of-an-Advisor-Study-2021.pdf
The opinions voiced are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and may not be invested into directly. No strategy assures success or protects against loss.
